Citizens on budget committee worry about payroll tax, cut impacts

For months, a group of Salem citizens read the city budget in its entirety, spent hours listening to city officials, and asked questions about vacant jobs and spending.

Ultimately, the majority of the Salem Budget Committee recommended that the Salem City Council impose a payroll tax without voter approval.

Though many supported the tax, few considered it a perfect solution. Several said in recent interviews that the timeline to evaluate hundreds of pages of information…